


Every color of Taehyung

by MaddyMeowy



Category: BLACKPINK (Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Be nice to Blackpink, But not really shipping, Canon Compliant, Crush toxic masculinity, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, I love messing with expectations, Male Friendship, Male-Female Friendship, No relationship tags bc reasons, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Shipping, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:01:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23770489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaddyMeowy/pseuds/MaddyMeowy
Summary: "Taehyung has to smile and shake his head a little as his heart floods with compassion for his younger self, so torn up that day, crying on stage for all the world to see, and so unaware of what was to come in his professional, as well as his personal life."From MAMA 2018 to MAMA 2019; it is an emotional year for Kim Taehyung of global success BTS. Fortunately, he is not alone on this crazy ride. Out of the limelight, an unexpected relationship is slowly developing, and before the year is over, Taehyung will be more certain than ever of who he truly is.
Comments: 13
Kudos: 6





	1. Remembering

**Author's Note:**

> You're getting veeeerryyyy sleeeepyyyy....  
> When I snap my fingers, you will wake up and think that you actually saw Blackpink at MAMA 2019!
> 
> No? Okay, fine. This is a canon fic until December 2019 comes and ruins the illusion.  
> Thank goodness for artistic freedom, right?
> 
> Now, please take my hand, as we dive into the hidden life of fanfic Taehyung!

December 2019

”Kim Taehyung - The Most Handsome Man In The World”…   
Whatever mixed bag of fun and pressure had been tossed in his lap along with that title, Taehyung would have gladly tossed it back in exchange for a 10% reduction in focus on him for just one evening. With more idols than the camera crews could ever cover completely at this award show, is it really necessary to have at least two cameras trained on him and the other BTS members non-stop? He must have gone through four bottles of water already, just to have a physical distraction and a reason to change positions, fiddle around and make up little games with the empty bottles together with Jungkook. Ah, how grateful he is for Jungkook’s never-ending interest in diversions, especially if they include snacks or a physical challenge. Knowing that they would end up in some meme or piece of fluff on Koreaboo.com the following day, no matter how much they try to keep their games to a respectful level of physical activity, Jungkook had not hesitated one second before accepting his hyung’s silent challenge to flip the blue water bottle cap around his knuckles in the pattern established by Taehyung’s own, nimble fingers. 

…

From the second tier of seats reserved for the most prominent idols, it is almost too easy to look down on the many-colored, fluffy heads of Bangtan Sonyeondan. Close enough to guess the thread count of their expensive collars; close enough to occasionally overhear some of their comments and jokes. Jisoo and her members would have had front-row seats at the Bangtan Boys Backsides Show, if only the stage had been lower than eye level for the second tier crowd. Eyes straight ahead to at least appear to be following the happenings on stage; she knows this with every single part of her brain, except the one that controls that telltale eyelash flutter, which would give her wandering gaze away immediately to any conveniently positioned attendee with a decent zoom function. Seated like four queens right behind the kings of BTS, like an overly full poker house, Jisoo has ended up with all three of the other Blackpink girls on her left. Thanks to the curve of the well-like seat construction, this gives her unlimited access to inspect the lesser-seen backs of the hairstyles worn by Jin (seated to the right of his members like herself), Suga and RM should she so wish, but more interestingly, it gives her an increasing amount of sideview of each member that follows to the left of RM: Jimin, J-Hope, Jungkook, and most visible of them all to her, V. That is, of course, if she dares turn her head that far left, for all the cameras to see. With her peripheral vision, she can make out the figures of Jungkook and V leaning forward with their elbows on spread legs, heads hanging low as they appear to be focusing on something in their hands. If V is feeling as tense as she is, there is no external sign of it. His posture and easy communication with Jungkook makes him look as relaxed as a person fighting off boredom can look. Jisoo has no choice but to assume that she is the only one swimming in memories of that day, almost exactly one year ago.

…

They are back in the same place, surrounded by pretty much the same people (with one very important exception, of course) – so how could the mood be so different? Last year, he felt as if he had stumbled to the finishing line of a marathon on rubbery legs, out of breath and dragging his brothers along to grab that medal with him. Knowing that they had signed up for another seven years had filled him with prideful resolve, but also doubts as to whether that resolve would be enough to battle fatigue, rising expectations and the pull of future personal lives and passions tugging at the sleeves of all seven members. Even with his usual, optimistic outlook, he could not have imagined returning here today with nothing but triumphs and exceeded expectations marking the year of 2019 for BTS, the ”global phenomenon”. Taehyung has to smile and shake his head a little as his heart floods with compassion for his younger self, so torn up that day, crying on stage for all the world to see, and so unaware of what was to come in his professional, as well as his personal life.


	2. Cuddling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One year earlier, the day after the tearful MAMA 2018 speeches that broke ARMYs collective heart...
> 
> (Please decide AFTER this chapter how upset you are with me for making you remember it!)

December 15, 2018

The soft hand and tender fingers combing his hair up and back off his forehead, together with the even softer voice coming from somewhere above him, make Taehyung forget what he was in the middle of saying. All he knows is that he had spoken with urgency, so it must have been an important message that he had been trying to get across just a second earlier. His face still bears the tension of it, the feeling of his concerned facial expression the only thing he has carried with him from the dissipating dream.

”Tae… Shhh… Tae, it’s okay… It’s just a dream.” Jimin’s comforting whisper makes Taehyung’s forehead unfurrow and his jaw unclamp. Whatever had felt so important and upsetting half a minute ago, he is more than willing to let it go in exchange for being wrapped in the sweetness of Jimin’s care. 

”Poor baby… You were talking so loudly in your sleep, worse than Jin-hyung. We wanted to let you sleep, but I couldn’t take it, you sounded so upset. I had to come and check on you. How are you feeling, Taehyung-ah?” Those soft fingers never stop slowly combing through bright red fluff while Jimin explains why he is sitting there on his best friend’s bed, in a melodic voice more meant to soothe and calm, than get an actual message across. Jimin’s own, silver gray hair is a mess; the side parting from last night is still sharply cemented thanks to stiffening products, but the long bangs are hanging limp and sleep-sweaty over his left eye and the hair over his right ear is comically mussy. His eyes are a perfect display of what Jin jokingly calls ”Jimin’s champagne puffs”, but the joke is on Jin, because Jimin loves his puffy eyes almost as much as he loves champagne. Not only that, but he actually thinks the expression sounds rather luscious and extravagant, so he has decided to embrace it and wear his champagne puffs as emblems of the lifestyle he has achieved. To complete his bedside look, Jimin is wearing a simple, black t-shirt which is at least two sizes too big for his frame (a dead give-away that he’s been dipping into the neat stash of basics in his maknae’s suitcase yet again), black sweatpants and slippers. In other words, his usual ”hotel uniform”, as attentive fans call his all-black ensembles. 

None of this is visible to Taehyung yet, however, since the incentives to open his eyes and greet the morning-after day can not compete with his desire to stay in this bedroom borderland between fitful sleep and demanding daytime schedules. Grunting faintly and sleepily, to lull Jimin into the not-completely-false belief that he is still not fully awake behind his closed eyelids, he rolls lazily onto his side to curl up in such a way that Jimin is suddenly seated in a U of Taehyung’s thighs, stomach, chest, head and arm. Poor Jimin, his intuition and years of best friend experience is no match for his brother’s acting skills! Not so much as a tug at the corner of that wide mouth, not even a tiny hitch in Taehyung’s breathing pattern gives away the sudden attack; before Jimin can catch his own breath again, he is already helplessly folded double at the waist by Taehyung’s strong, determined arm and pulled down into a little spoon position on the very edge of the bed, knees jutting out over it. 

After an initial yelp and subsequent gasp of fake shock at Taehyung’s deceit, Jimin grips the arm holding him like a vice and shakes it in futile (and honestly, quite healf-hearted) attempts to free himself, only to surrender in a tiny fit of body-shaking giggles. Burrowing his forehead into the crook of Jimin’s neck, tickling the already giggling young man with all that stiff, red hair bristling up at Jimin’s ear, Taehyung lets out a satisfied and affirmative ”Mmm” to let his friend know that he is in charge and not about to let go until he has gotten enough Jimin cuddles to make abandoning the bed an acceptable proposition. A small sound of protest escapes past Jimin’s smiling lips, earning him a sleep-heavy leg longer than his own swinging up and coming down heavy to lock his own legs in place and stop them from squirming. 

”So that’s how it is? This is what I get for being so good to you?” asks Jimin with a tone of mock reproach. 

”Hmm, you get exactly what you deserve,” Taehyung mumbles against his shoulder. ”You love it, so stop complaining and just cuddle with me, please...” 

His body weighs too much to ever take another smooth dance step again. He can feel that his human snuggle pillow has much more morning energy in every muscle, even in their shared stillness. With every two heavy breaths from his own lungs, the chest under his hand exhales three times, creating a triplet rythm of three over two that tickles at the same place in his brain where he figures out musical intervals in everything from foreign ambulances to the sounds coming out of Yeontan when begging for treats. Unable to maintain his sleepiness with the mental stimulation spreading like sunlight through the metaphorical house of his brain, leaving no room dark enough for sleeping in, Taehyung rolls off of Jimin to stretch and yawn loudly in his best opera voice. His cuddle victim has barely pushed himself up from the soft mattress into his former sitting position before he has to cover his ears to protect them. 

”Ah, Taehyung-aaaah,” he whines, ”your yawns are getting as loud as your sneezes!”

”God blessed me with this voice, I’m just making sure everybody hears it as much as possible,” Taehyung replies with a grin that comes off even more mischievous than intended, due to his eyes blinking awake at last but looking more like they are winking excessively. Jimin scoffs at his comment, and his disapproving face is only mildly softened with concern as he looks at Taehyung’s face and declares:

”Your eyes are as red as your hair. You really don’t look good at all.” Only Jimin can deliver critical comments so matter-of-factly, not a single grain of sugar to mitigate the bluntness, save for the knowledge that he never means any harm. ”You should get up and wash your face with some cold water. Then we’ll order up some smoothies to my room when you’re dressed. See you there!” With a couple of quick pats on Taehyung’s chest, Jimin emphasizes that it is an order, not a suggestion, before he stands up and walks toward the door. Before he reaches the door, he turns around to leave his slightly younger brother with another order, coming from that never-drying well of big brother care which Jimin douses freely over all his members and friends, regardless of age and status:

”For your own good, don’t check Twitter yet. Actually, don’t go online at all. We’ll deal with media coverage and ARMY together when Yoongi-hyung wakes up. Joon-hyung sent us a message after we all fell asleep, he stayed up and checked what people are saying. They’re all talking about the tears, Tae. You might wanna check your phone, though. You probably have even more messages than I did...”

”Okay, Jiminie, I’ll check right away. Good thing I remembered to turn off the sound,” Taehyung says mostly to himself as he rolls up on his elbow and reaches for the phone which is connected to the charger on the tiny bedside table. 

”Don’t get stuck though, remember: face, cold water, smoothies!” With a wave of his hand, he is out the door, leaving Taehyung to blink at the brightness of his phone screen, as well as the high number of notifications from every social media and communication app on the phone. It takes quite a lot of self-control to bypass his usual pattern of checking them all, a process which sometimes takes hours even on a usual day, partly because he gets easily sidetracked by appealing pictures and thoughts of creating something similar. But he knows Jimin is right; voicemail and text messages sent to his private phone number will have to be his priority at the moment. Everything and everyone else can wait. 

The list of missed calls and calls gone to voicemail is graciously short. Those close enough to him to have this number know better than to try to get hold of him in the middle of the night or early in the morning after an awards show. Well, not counting his mother and father who have left a long voicemail, a duet of parental music in his ear, featuring his mother playing ”so worried about you” and his father on ”so proud of you”. Also, there is a drunken voicemail from Hoseok, speaking in slow motion and a Jeolla twang at the same time, something about the Fake Love opening and turning off lights and his hotel room and good night. Taehyung moves on to text messages, of which there are many, many more. Scrolling quickly with his thumb, he sees that most of them are the usual congratulatory messages. No matter how many of them has received over the years, they still give him the same thrill as his recurring childhood dream of digging between sofa cushions, finding more and more coins. Those messages are his treasure, and a much more tangible, lasting one than the dream coins ever were. Later today, he will reply to each and every one of them, he always does. Sure, he might not reply with eloquent text messages like Jimin and Namjoon, but at least he sends each person a picture from his phone memory that reminds him of them in some way only he seems to understand sometimes. Not as bad as Yoongi, who replies with an emoticon and ”SUGA” or ”Yoongi”, depending on relation and mood, and sometimes not at all.

One message makes him pause out of curiousity. Not because of the sender; Kim Jisoo has been sending him the same, polite, congratulatory messages that he has been sending her whenever their respective groups make headlines with positive news of a certain magnitude, ever since they shared MC duty the previous fall. No, what catches his eye is the fact that it seems to be a video message, rather than a text message. Rather than reading this early on in his morning procedures, he would love to watch a cute video message. Perhaps the Blackpink girls will wave and do aegyo while shouting congratulations? Maybe even sing a little? That is exactly what he needs right now, to cheer him up and boost him out of bed. The prospect of a cheerful video message has him sitting up where Jimin sat not long before, his feet relishing the fibers of the carpet as he sweeps his distracting bangs out of his face and presses play on the video. The cozy feeling and expectant half-smile on his lips give way to perplexity. That is not Jisoo on his screen, and this is not a cheerful message of aegyo and congratulations.


	3. Coping

December 15, 2018 continued

Water drops splatter Taehyung’s bare feet and hands as Jimin strokes his wet hair back to see the screen better, a risky move when the hand not holding the phone is needed at his waist. The thick, hotel-white towel has been threatening to come loose from its wrap ever since Jimin sat down on the foot of the bed to focus on the video message. Sitting diagonally behind Jimin in what can best be described as a simple yoga pose without a name, Taehyung ignores the water and continues to nervously rub his own foot with both hands. Even though Jimin is making an effort to hold the phone high enough for its owner to watch over his shoulder, Taehyung knows the video well enough by heart already, having watched it on his own bed, pacing in his room, before washing his face, after washing his face and on the way to Jimin’s room. Instead, he opts to let the audio play over the visual of floral-scented water drops leaving dark gray hair strands, plopping down onto smooth shoulders and converging in a trail down a spine that looks young-boy-fragile to him when naked, even though he has witnessed the powerful ways it flexes and bends in dance moves that no other member would dare attempt, not even Hoseok.

Jimin presses play, to find out what could possibly have made Taehyung need his support in the middle of getting ready for their flight, but also out of sheer curiosity. The first two seconds are nothing but shuffling sounds and what appears to be t-shirt fabric in closeup. Then the hands holding Jisoo’s phone tilt it up and the screen fills up with a faceful of generous features, set in a scowl made more severe by thick bangs ending exactly at the eyebrows. Lisa’s trademark ponytail appears briefly, swinging behind her head as if to underline her disapproval, the source of which is soon made clear.

”Taehyung-oppa!” Lisa is sitting in a darkened room, whispering threateningly so close to the mic it creates painful static sounds. She lifts the phone stealthily over her shoulder to provide a view of the background. There, on a sofa in what is clearly a living room lit by nothing but a TV-screen, are two drawn-up legs supporting a pillow, into which a dark-haired girl is sobbing hard enough not to notice her phone being used for evil.

”You made Jisoo-eonni cry! Fix it!” Her whisper turns into more of a wheeze for the last two words. The screen becomes a jumble of material again and Jimin lowers his hand, believing the video to end there. Taehyung has no time to warn him before Lisa’s face fills the screen again, this time with a smile as wide and sunny as a Thailand beach. With characteristic, un-Korean openness she ends her message as if video calls to BTS members is a daily occurrence and not at all the first time it has ever happened.

”Oh! Congratulations sunbaenim! All the awards! And we loved your performance! Byyyyyyeeee!”

Aegyo and congratulations, but not exactly the way Taehyung had imagined. His BAE (Best Advice Elder), however, was ready for some sort of drama the moment he was handed the phone. Now he is in full fix-it mode on behalf of his own BAE (Baffled Affectionate Elf), donning his hyung attitude to instill trust and calmness. Turning halfway to hand back the phone and pat Taehyung’s knee in a comforting manner, Jimin would have been the image of brotherly authority, if only the move had not caused the towel to resign from its highly-coveted position of hugging the sacred Jibooty and adjacent bits. 

”What do you want to do about this, TaeTae?”

”I don’t know, that’s why I’m asking you,” Taehyung replies in a higher pitch than normal, nervous that Jimin will choose this moment to go all Yoda on him and make him find his inner wisdom or something. 

”You know deep inside what you really want to do,” says Yoda Jimin, opening himself up to a less than grateful retort from his young padawan.

”I can’t look deep inside, Jiminie,” Taehyung sighs regretfully, fooling absolutely anyone. ”I’m too distracted by your natural beauty...” He lets his voice trail off in whistful, over-the-top awe while making Jimin follow his gaze down to where much too much exposure is happening for their counseling session to continue. 

”You’re a kid,” Jimin says with indignation, slap-pushing him too lightly to be the cause of Taehyung falling over with his eyes squeezed shut and a silly giggle bubbling out of him. ”I don’t have time for this, I have to get dressed,” he says while picking himself and the useless towel up off the bed. ”Have you put together your airport outfit yet?”

”Yeah, I just need to shower and change into it,” a smiling but much calmer Taehyung says as he pushes himself up to sitting again, ”I’m wearing the camel-colored pants and the jacket with all the lightning things.”

”Lightning things..? Zippers?”

”Yeah, zippers.” Taehyung is sure he has read that zippers are called ”lightning locks” somewhere in the world. It stuck with him, making him forget the word he has known since childhood. It also makes him look at the upside-down Y shapes of lightning flashes and picture them as zippers in the sky, opening temporary portals between dimensions or universes. Taehyung steps through such a portal in his mind, leaving Jimin and his struggle to pour himself into tight, black jeans and a similarly non-colored turtleneck in the mundane hotel dimension. To an observer, he appears to have zoned out completely, his round, glossy eyes and slack mouth showing no trace of his vivid flight of fancy. 

Lost in thought, he completely misses the awkward moment when Jimin opens the door to find both Jungkook and a hotel waitress pushing a cart full of Jimin’s orders. Sweet, polite Jungkook attempts to make the waitress go through the door first, through the power of polite bows and smiles. The waitress refuses to let her age, gender and time-pressured schedule go before guest status and idol elevation. It is quite the Laurel and Hardy moment, bows added, which would probably have made them all lose their flight or get fired, was it not for Jimin reaching out a swift hand, grabbing the front of Jungkook’s sweaty gym shirt and yanking him over the threshold.

A whole buffet of Jungkook muscles, smoothies and fruit plates (plus a carton of banana milk, but that is reserved for aforementioned muscle maknae) is enough to stop Taehyung’s space-themed spacing out. He wishes he was more gym-inclined himself, but even if he was, he would never have hit the gym after the kind of night they all lived through the night before, soaked as it was in sweat, tears, love and alcohol. 

”Gym so early?” 

”Ya, needed it.”

”Mm.”

With Jimin focused on the waitress, the younger ones slip into their text message style of communication, the shorter the better. Taehyung is fully fluent in Jungkook nods; the shy, subdued, downward nods and the confident, excited, upward ones. The former kind in combination with three little words informs him that Jungkook has dealt the best way he knows how with living his personal nightmare on camera less than twenty-four hours earlier, having to watch his beloved hyungs break down in tears one by one. The memory of the maknae’s touch, his attempt to offer silent consolation in the middle of his own heartbreak, twists Tahyung’s guts with hot guilt so sudden that he has no chance to brace himself against the prickling of tears and soft hiccup that has apparently lured in his throat after his sobbing session. Quickly, quickly, he forces down all visible and audible signs of emotional distress, to spare Jungkook a repeat performance. It is the least he can do as his hyung, he tells himself. There is no time for Jungkook to do another thousand reps of everything. 

Empathy and intuition should earn Taehyung another award this morning. So should self-deception. For as much as he understands Jungkook’s coping mechanisms, he is in complete denial about his own. His concern for Jisoo’s feelings is as genuine as Taehyung himself, but focusing all his care on someone else, someone who has not even asked for it herself, is most certainly a diversion he clings to rather than facing himself and the rest of the world this morning. If anyone sees right through him, it is Jimin, who would have had him smoothied and dressed already, was it not for this sudden video message absorption. So instead, Care Bear Jimin is dividing his attention between the emotional needs of his TaeTae, the physical needs of his post-workout, sleep-deprived Kook, and the never-fulfilled cuddle needs of his Mochi self. Perched on the flat armrest of the loveseat facing the bed, he has one arm resting lightly around the broad shoulders of Jungkook, who has plopped himself down to one side with plenty of space to spare, despite his thigh-heavy manspread. A plate of fruit is resting on Jimin’s lap, which he selflessly offers as a table over Jungkook’s legs to reduce the distance to his mouth, in the interest of keeping it constantly supplied. 

”But really, Jimin, just tell me what to write to her,” Taehyung gently begs, prompting a food-garbled ”Her?” from the newcomer and an eloquent, yet efficient explanation from Jimin, before he turns back to give concrete advice.

”Do you think she’s even seen the video yet? Maybe she doesn’t know what Lisa has done...”

”OH! You’re right!”

”...so you should really start there, just get her attention and see how she reacts to being in a conversation she didn’t even start.” Jimin receives a wide-eyed nod of admiration from below, making him remember his other task and force in a smoothie straw between willing bunny lips. 

”GOOD! I got it! Thanks!” Having an actual task flips the switch over to Optimist Tae and he springs up off the bed, strides over to the loveseat (narrowly avoiding getting his toes caught on the leg of the tiny table in front of it), and flops down next to Jungkook, their knees knocking together. Biting one side of his chapped bottom lip, he stares down into his phone and lets his long thumbs sweep what he hopes is a casual enough message over the screen and across the sea to Korea. 

Satisfied with his own efforts to keep his dongsaengs calm and content, Jimin pushes his toes under Taehyung’s leg, relishing the warm weight locking him into place and making his leg table more stable. Letting the hand he had wrapped around Jungkook’s shoulder play absentmindedly with his dark locks instead, he relaxes his control of the situation for a moment and turns all aegyo baby bird, gaping over pieces of fruit between Jungkook’s fingers. Jungkook can’t help but smile, seeing Jimin looking mighty pleased with himself when his pink mouth proves as irresistible to feed as usual. They are so caught up in their own little bubble of eating, half-whispering nonsense and turning both plate and fruit pieces into tug-of-war toys, that neither of them notice Taehyung’s eyebrows drawing closer and closer together, and his breathing sounding increasingly like sighs of frustration.


	4. Bickering

December 15, 2018 (still)

”Oh? Is this the room we’re using as a living room for everyone today?”

Hoseok treads wearily through the door that Jimin holds open for him, while barely turning his head to scan the new environment through his yellow-tinted sunglasses. Lamps, sunlight – they’re all The Enemy today. Hoseok doesn’t do full-on sob fests, and he definitely doesn’t try to rehydrate afterwards with champagne and whatever else his head is punishing him for today. Yet that is exactly what happened the night before, and anyone who expects hope and sunshine this morning will just have to take a raincheck. 

Taehyung glances up to register the newcomer, who is grimacing with disgust at the smoothie held out to him by the brunch host. Sure, he seems somewhat subdued and grumpy. Sure, his eyes would match Tae’s if he took off those sunglasses. And sure, he looks more like a thunder cloud than a ray of sunshine in his giant, black hoodie (although the print is in rainbow colors; he’s just going through a hangover, not a personality transplant). But still, he manages to look flawless to Taehyung. Perfect skin, the bastard, and tiny, serious mouth like a Dutch porcelain doll. 

”We need to get ready, everyone,” he says in a deep, flat tone conveying urgency only by sounding somewhat strained. 

”Right, that’s what I’m trying to accomplish here,” Jimin replies. ”Hyungs aren’t coming? I ordered enough for everyone.”

”Namjoonie is in a meeting with the staff, and Yoongi-hyung is still snoozing but swore he’d be ready on time.”

”And Jin-hyung?”

Hoseok’s lips couldn’t help but open into a tiny smile. ”Jin-hyung has been sampling his way through the entire breakfast buffet all morning. ’Looking for inspiration,’ he says.”

”More like looking for comfort,” Jimin mumbled softly while checking his face in the mirror above the sidetable. 

”I just wish he would stop sending me selcas of himself stuffing his mouth,” Hoseok groaned, which would have made Taehyung chuckle along with Jungkook is he wasn’t so focused on his texting. 

As if his body has subconsciously positioned itself as close to the bathroom door as possible, Hoseok is still standing a mere three steps past the threshold when he scans the room a second time, finally able to register what he is seeing, or rather NOT seeing. 

”Wait… Jiminie, isn’t this your room?”

”Yeah?”

”It’s neat.” Hoseok’s words are not meant as praise. 

”So?” There is a slight, nervous edge to Jimin’s voice even though he tries to look relaxed and sure of himself, eyebrows raised while his eyes stay cool.

”I’m your roommate, in case you don’t remember. You’re a mess, Park Jimin. Did you just come here to shower this morning?” Hoseok has figured out that Jimin never slept in his room after Hoseok stumbled to an earlier bed than the rest, and Jimin is already in defense mode. 

”Jiminie slept in my room,” Jungkook intervenes, drawing four eyes to himself before Jimin’s eyes roll upwards as he plops back down on the armrest again. Jungkook’s tone is so calm, as if he’s simply delivering a neutral fact instead of willingly stepping into the line of fire for everone’s sake.  
His intervention pays off, and his Hobi-hyung gives him the dimpled head tilt before turning back to Jimin with a small sigh.

”We talked about this. It’s one thing in Paris or Chicago, but not here, you know the hotel staff will notice...”

”Hyung,” Jimin interrupts in a small, vulnerable voice. ”I- I needed it. You of all people should know how hard it is for me to sleep alone, and last night, I...” Jimin’s voice quivers and Hoseok would have pulled him into a hug if Jungkook hadn’t beaten him to it by scooping the entire, curled-up ball of emotions from the armrest next to him and into his lap for more of the comfort he surely offered all night one door down the hall. Hoseok turns his attention to the wide bed, noting that it looks decidedly unslept in. The only sign of a human presence is the ghost print of Taehyung’s butt on the soft bedspread. 

”Okay,” he says decisively, slipping more and more into his role as unofficial vice leader (and feeling softer, almost human again). ”Jiminie, you need to roll around and make this bed look like it’s actually been slept in.”

”I need two people to leave the room first, then,” Jimin quips suggestively with so much cheek that Hoseok suffers worse from emotional whiplash than from his hangover. He’s having none of it, though. 

”You little BRAT,” he laughs, making both himself and everyone else feel more at ease. ”Just get in there!” But Jimin has found the Hobi-hyung laugh button, and he’s not about to stop pressing it by suddenly cooperating. He folds his arms across his chest dramatically, pouts like a little kid and answers with a fake-surly tone:

”NO. I don’t want my hair to dry funny.” Then he looks up at Hoseok with a glint in his eyes and bites his lower lip, checking what sort of effect he’s having. The desired effect, of course. Before Hoseok can wipe the smile off his face and come drag Jimin over to the bed, Jungkook lays a big hand right on top of Jimin’s head, ruffles his hair affectionately but a little too vigorously, as if Jimin was a labrador.

”Jiminie likes his hair messy in just the right way,” Jungkook offers, not making the slightest effort to remember honorifics for Jimin with no outsiders around to pick up on it. The right kind of messy is not what his hand created, though, and Jimin glowers dangerously at Jungkook for all of one and a half seconds before trying to panic-fix his hair again without leaving Jungkook’s lap to use the mirror.

”Kookie-yaaa! Look what you di-I-id,” Jimin whines adorably, making Jungkook burst into a wide, nose-scrunching grin. It’s the happiest he has looked all day, to Jimin’s enormous satisfaction. Hoseok gives up, tears off the bedspread and falls back onto Jimin’s bed with his arms spread, as if the white covers were made of fluffy snow for him to make snow angels in.

”Jimin-ssi… You always look good, it doesn’t matter,” Jungkook compliments in his earnest way, but with just enough flirtiness in the delivery of the nickname to bring a blush to Jimin’s cheeks and lure a giggle out of his chest. That is the moment Taehyung chooses to re-enter the conversation, for the first time since Hoseok joined them.

”Jungkookie is right, it doesn’t matter. Jiminie will run his hand through his hair a thousand times before we leave the hotel anyway,” he deadpans before he tries and fails to avoid the back of Jimin’s hand swatting him across his bicep.

”Jiminie-HYUNG to you, you traitor! Fine, I’m done here, ask Hobi-hyung for help instead,” Jimin adds in his pettiest, yet joking voice. ”Come on, Kook, let’s get you changed out of these sweaty clothes before Namjoonie-hyung comes looking for us.” Before he’s done speaking, he is already halfway to the door, tugging Jungkook gently behind him by the hand.

Hoseok lifts his head off the bed. ”What? Taehyung-ah, you need help with something?”

Before Taehyung can answer, Jungkook mischievously answers in his stead, while lunging back into the room to grab the unopened carton of banana milk for the road:

”Taehyungie made a girl cry!”

”HEY!” Taehyung aims a kick at Jungkook’s shin, which he dances away from with annoying laughter.

”Thank you, Kookie, that’s VERY helpful,” Jimin sighs as he reaches out and clasps Jungkook’s hand with his, lacing their fingers together this time to avoid losing his grip again as he pulls his snickering maknae out the door. 

”Hyung, it’s not like that, really,” Taehyung says almost apologetically once it’s just the two of them left in the room. 

”Come over here, tell me what’s going on,” Hobi answers, patting the bed. Taehyung doesn’t need to be asked twice, especially since he knows there will be comforting cuddles to go with the much-needed advice. In no time at all, he’s off the sofa and flat on his back with Hoseok’s arm under his neck. ”I got this video message...”

A few minutes later, Hoseok is up to speed on the whole situation. While he attempted to deal with Jimin, Taehyung had been left to fend for himself, leading to a situation that makes Hoseok smile in fondness and amusement at his younger friend. 

”You! Are! So! CUTE!” Tae is just trying not to drop his phone on his face, making it hard to protect himself properly from Hoseok’s prodding, tickling fingers marking every one of his words. It seems Taehyung has accidentally stumbled across a Homemade Hobi Hangover Remedy, because he is every bit his happiest self again after reading through the text conversation between Taehyung and a very surprised Jisoo (who had slept in and only discovered Lisa’s shenanigans by Taehyung texting back). 

”Hyung.” Tae is sitting up with his legs crossed, red hair flying everywhere. ”You saw what happened. All I did was to ask if she was okay, and then she started apologizing? Apologizing for everything, for Lisa, for disturbing me, for the way she looked while CRYING, I mean… And then I apologized for making her feel like she had to apologize, and then I think she apologized for making ME apologize and I’m so CONFUSED! What do I do with this? I just wanted to make her feel better!” His phone has dropped from his hands to his lap and he’s rubbing his hands through his hair and down his cheeks in frustration.

”Aww, come on, it’s not that bad, shhh, shhh,” Hoseok soothes him, putting a warm hand on Taehyungs shoulder after sitting up cross-legged in front of him. ”Look at me.”

Taehyung removes his hands from his face and looks up at Hoseok. Their eye contact is familiar and stabilizing. Together, they take a few breaths until Taehyung is ready to smile back at Hoseok in silent acknowledgment that he might be blowing his problem out of proportion a little bit. 

”There… You just wanted to make her feel better, right? If anyone can do that, it’s our TaeTae,” Hoseok says with pride and confidence. ”You always make the members feel better when someone is feeling down. Just do what you normally do!”

”But she’s… It’s not like the members, we don’t have that connection, I can’t just hug her or say sweet things like I do with you guys...”

”So make the connection. If you want, I mean. If this is important to you, if it makes you feel better, then make the connection. Just be yourself, forget all the polite back-and-forth for a moment and just pretend she’s...pretend she’s Jimin, okay?”

”Pretend she’s Jimin. Huh.” Taehyung looks like he just found a magical shortcut between the dorms and the Big Hit headquarters. 

”But nothing inappropriate, of course,” Hoseok adds as a precaution.

”No, of course,” Taehyung answers quickly, wanting Hoseok and everyone else to trust his judgment. ”But if I’m gonna do this, I can’t keep writing. I have to call her so she can hear my voice, I think.”

”If you think that’s best, then you do that,” Hoseok says and adds a nod to show his approval. ”But first, you REALLY need to hurry up and get dressed! Let’s get out of here and I’ll risk my neck trying to get Yoongi-hyung out of his room while you take a very, very quick shower, okay?”

”Your neck will be fine, hyung, you know Yoongi-hyung could never be angry with you,” Tae smiled, grateful as always to be cared for so well even when his members hardly had much more experience with these things than he did himself. As he half-jogged down the corridor to his room, he made a mental note to think of something nice he could do for Hoseok in return for giving him a way out of his and Jisoo’s apology spiral. A swooping feeling went through his stomach at the thought of calling her up, and he knew that he would have to focus hard on his shampoo in, shampoo out routine to avoid getting stuck in a hotel shower, rehearsing what to say when she picked up. If she picked up.


End file.
